A year is over; I made it

I am tempted to start with the cliché – it seems like only yesterday that … – but I will not for the sake of avoiding ad nauseam. Still the reality is that an academic year has now passed and I am actually one year closer to whatever awaits at the finish line. Now that the year is finally over, I’m now enjoying a vacation in California before I return to Philadelphia, hopefully to work in a lab over the summer. Before that, there is one important thing that must be completed and …

Where am I now

The last memory my readers will have about my life was my resignation from my full time job as a paralegal. Since then, much has changed as I chose to steer my life in a new direction. I had already predicted 2008 to be the year where I would take concrete steps towards obtaining a job in the financial industry and over the past month, I cannot help but feel like I have finally taken the road less traveled.

I decided to return to undergraduate and focus my studies and my experiences on obtaining a job in Wall Street, something I had overlooked during my previous undergraduate study. To accomplish this, I chose to submit an application to the University of Pennsylvania and to my amazement; I was granted admission into their undergraduate division with the chance to earn a second baccalaureate degree. I am currently enrolled at the university and I plan on a curriculum with studies in Philosophy, Politics,  & Economics (PPE) supplemented by financial courses at Wharton undergrad. With the assistance of the Penn and Wharton community, I am in a better position to obtain summer internships and ultimately a job at the end of four years.

So far, life at Penn has been predictable. There is not much news to report, and ignoring the occasion of having to take out new sets of loans to finance this education, much of the old life remains unchanged. I do recognize that this marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life – a tabula rasa if you can imagine it – and I take each step of each day knowing that I have placed myself in a better position to achieve my career goals than the day before.

Then, Now, Later

This is my first blog post in the 2008 year. As such, I’ll try to fit multiple items into one blog post that I have entitled; Then, Now, Later.

Then

The year 2007 was a trying year for me. After I graduated college in 2006, I decided I was going to join the workforce for a few years, gain some experience and apply to medical school when I was ultimately ready. As time went on though, I began to pursue other interest outside of the pursuit of medicine. All throughout undergrad, I had always heard of careers in investment banking and management and strategic consulting, but with my pre-medical blinders on, I chose to ignore those career routes even though I had expressed early interest in them, evident by my ultimate choice to pursue an economic degree. In 2007, I sought to pursue this interest and attempted to transition into a new career in the banking industry. I pulled my application from medical school and sought instead to apply to business school (b-schools). I choose to apply to b-schools because I truly believe that b-schools were the path that would provide me the knowledge and expertise in the most accelerated, rigorous and structured path to allow for a success transition into a new career in the mergers and acquisition advisory at an investment bank. The problem with my hasty decision though, is that business schools search for different qualities in their students than do medical schools (which hitherto, I had been aim to meet medical school requirements) and now I’m struggling to show to the admission committees my story as to why I am a desirable candidate deserving of a seat in their business school.

Other aspects of my life did fall into order in 2007. Due to a renewed determination to better my current lot in life, I became serious about the decisions that affect my life, my finances, and my future. In 2007, I really began talks with my girlfriend in order to coordinate and manage our lives post (her) graduation. She, like I, is very ambitious and this ambition is driving her to medical school (bless her soul). So far, the conversations are going well and we’re working to collaborate and coordinate the directions that our passions are now pulling us towards.

In terms of finances, I started a Roth IRA in 2007 and I plan to continue that trend in the future. I also opened a taxable account to complete my desired asset allocation. My 401(k) at work will soon become available and I look forward to putting more funds in that cash deferred account.

While all my goals and aspirations were not met in 2007, I’m looking forward to pushing ahead in 2008 to try to achieve those goals.

Now

I’m contemplating what contingency plan I’ll engage if I don’t gain admittance to business school during this cycle. I’ve accepted the reality that the possibility exists that this might not be the year for me, but I know I can patiently wait and build up my candidacy for the day when the opportunity to enter into the career I desire arises (whether or not that path leads through business school). I’m currently awaiting the decisions from the schools I applied in the second round. I have decided that this is the last round that I will submit an application to, and if not successful in this round, I’ll accept that I need and can add to application by staying in the workforce and gaining extra work experience. Since I am unsatisfied in my current work position, I’ll seek to lateral into a new position if that is the route I am compelled to take.

For the first time since I carried a credit card, I’m carrying a balance from one month to the next. This is due to the application fees of the business schools I applied to. All of the balance is on a 0% interest card (currently) so I’m not too worried about carrying the balance from month to month. I’m paying down the principal with all available funds so as to avoid paying interest charges when the introductory rate expires. I’m still allocating and dollar cost averaging (DCA) into the market funds I own. The next couple of months will be a strain on my budget allocation as I continue to pay off this credit card debt, pay down my student loans, continuing adding to my Roth and taxable accounts and start a 401(k) plan. I’ve chosen an asset allocation plan (shown below) that I try to DCA into every moth. Hopefully, starting early in life, I can take advantage of compound interest to secure a financially independent future.

AA- 95% Equities, 5% Fixed Income

40% Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTSMX)
30% Vanguard FTSE All-World ex. US (VFWIX)
15% Vanguard Small Cap Value (VISVX)
10% Vanguard REIT (VGSIX)
5% Vanguard Inflation-Protection Securities (VIPSX)

Later

I have to consider what my options are in trying to ultimately end up in career in mergers & acquisition advisory at an investment bank within the next 5 to 10 years. I know if I follow stepwise a diligent plan, I will ultimately end fulfilling this desire.  I just have to find such a plan; that coordinated strategic plan that will make this desire a reality.

I do also have to factor in the fact that heading down this route will lead my life down a narrowly defined path, and I need to make sure that the path allows enough room for one more: my girlfriend. With her aspiration to enter medical school, I need to expect some difficulties that will come with combining both our lives.

So 2008 will be an interesting year. This is the year that I plan to make radical changes, whatever they may be. Here is to a new year, at least a 24 day old one.

I May Fall Short

“[I] may fall short in my execution but never in [my] commitment”

First of all, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone out there. Okay, Christmas is already over, but it’s never too late to wish it was merry. If you are still on your extended vacation, enjoy it you lucky person. If you are back in the office, or in school, or whatever work is to you, great, misery loves company.

Last week, I heard back from the University of Chicago GSB as to the status of the admissions committee decision: Denied. The next day, I also heard back from Wharton’s admissions committee: Denied. Well, there goes months of wishing and worrying. The decision is now made known; there is no longer a need to agonize. Back to back denials though have a unique way of persuading one to revisit the entire application process in order to find out where one might have steered off course.

Notwithstanding the disappointing news, I decided to keep plowing forward with my decision to apply for a spot at business school for the upcoming 2008 term. I believe I am worthwhile candidate for business school, and if I have not succeeded in getting my message to Wharton or Chicago, then the solution is simple: I need to retool the message to ensure that it is indeed properly conveyed to admission committees. Over the Christmas break, I took advantage of the available time to rework my essays and applications for a few schools I saved for the second round. If the message had ever been vague at first, I made certain that it is as direct as possible in these revised essays. I revisited key sections of my essays especially the Why MBA? Why Now? and Why this School? questions. Going through the essays, I tried to keep four main points clear and concise;

1. Leadership / Teamwork skills
2. Academic Abilities and Initiative (Entrepreneurship Spirit)
3. Courage
4. Maturity

Hopefully, I can gain admission to business school this term and begin the steps needed to transition to a career in Mergers & Acquisition advisory at an Investment Bank.

What about the quote in the beginning? Well, the quote was given by the CEO of the company, which I’m currently employed, at the recent earnings call. The quote was delivered after several quarters in which the company’s attempt to increase shareholder value (or stock price) was unfruitful. I remembered this quote during the break “We may fall short in our execution, but never in our commitment” while agonizing over whether I had what it took to continue. As per his words of wisdom, I fully realize that though I might have failed in my attempt for an acceptance at Wharton or Chicago, I should not let such failed execution deter my persistence. If I truly believe that matriculation at a business school is the most accelerated, rigorous and integrative path to allow for the success transition into this new career that I seek, then I must always continue to fight for it.

I Let It Out

Side Note: I’ve updated the Terms and Conditions page. Nothing on the page should be problematic for any reader but please, visit the pages as the terms and conditions do apply to this Blog.

For a while, I have kept the keys date of acceptances and rejections for the schools I applied from all friends, families and co-workers. I was unsure how this entire process will play out, and so I favored keeping everyone in the dark. Rather than the peaceful and quite recluse I sought from my silence, I received instead a constant barrage of questions and comments from everyone seeking the current status of the applications. So I have relented.

I targeted the first round for five different schools, and have gotten mixed results from all the schools that I applied. In as far as I know, here are their statuses;

Harvard Business School (HBS): I completed and submitted the HBS application on October 2^nd, 2007. Still till this moment, I have yet to hear from HBS about an interview. HBS is unique in that the school does accept a minority (10%) of its student body without an interview, but the other 90% of its acceptance class must be interviewed prior to their acceptance. My application currently stands as Submitted on the application page. The page also states that HBS will send out interview invites up until the notification deadline for all acceptances on January 16^th.  

University of Pennsylvania (Wharton): I completed and submitted Wharton’s application on October 10^th, 2007. I received an Interview Invite and completed an On-Campus Interview on October 30^th. The interview was held by a 2^nd year student studying finance. The interview was conversational, and went into my background, what I planed to accomplish with a MBA and why Wharton. I enjoyed the interview and, from my perspective, it seemed positive interview overall. I will be informed of the admission committee’s decision (acceptance, denial, or waitlist) on December 20^th.

University of Chicago (GSB*): I completed and submitted the Chicago GSB application on October 17^th, 2007. I received an Interview Invite and completed an On-Campus Interview on October 19^th. The interview was also held by a 2^nd year student. The interview was more formal, although still conversational. I will be informed of the admission committee’s decision on December 19^th.

Stanford University (GSB*): I completed and submitted the Stanford GSB application on October 22^nd. I had accidentally attached the wrong essays for one of the Stanford prompts. Although I called and had the proper essay attached to my application, I think the mistake has already doomed my application. I am in the same situation here as HBS. I can only hope for an interview before the notification deadline on January 18^th.

University of California, Los Angeles (Anderson): I completed and submitted Anderson’s application on October 23^rd. No word about my application from Anderson. I’ve filed this in the same category as HBS and Stanford GSB. I will know of the final result on January 18^th.

So there you have it, my application status in a nutshell.

* GSB stands for the Graduate School of Business.

Behold The Panic Button

Ever since I ditched my AMCAS application, I have been running around blind, in circles, and full speed ahead into the darkness. That is to say, I’ve committed myself to a path that I know what I expect as a desired outcome but with no clear yellow brick road between where I am today and where I want to be. I’ve chosen to withdraw my application from AMCAS and concentrate on applying instead to business school in an attempt to switch to a finance-focused career. For better or for worse, this is the decision that I’ve made and will have to live with for this application cycle.After completing the application to a few select schools for the first round cycle, I now find myself in a waiting game. I’m waiting (and hoping) for an interview invitation to the schools that I’ve applied. An invite indicates that the admission committee is, at the very least, considering my application for acceptance. A lack of invite indicates my application is sitting in a trash can somewhere. It’s still early in the cycle and I know that an invite can arrive any day, but each subsequent day without an invite is a day that I face the grim reality that I might not gain admission to a business school.

Each day without any invite, I start to second-guess my decision. I say to myself “You were a better candidate for medical school.” In the medical school application world, I would be considered a traditional applicant. Far from being just another face in the crowd, being a traditional applicant at least meant that I finished four years of concurrent undergraduate studies where I also completed my pre-medical requirement and some advanced science course, and later completed the MCAT while still enrolled. I’ll be two years removed from my baccalaureate degree during the new school year, but would still be considered traditional. A label of ‘traditional applicant’ meant I passed the basic test, and didn’t require further screening as a non-traditional applicant would receive. Whatever happens after that, in the subjective medical admission process, is anyone’s guess. When applying to business school though, I am anything but a traditional applicant.

A traditional applicant (and by traditional here, I’m describing the cookie-cutter mold of a perfect applicant. I realize that a typical class is more diverse than the typical mold. I’m relying on this fact for an acceptance) applying to business school probably went to an undergraduate business powerhouse. Such powerhouses, or target school as they are known in the finance world, produce the candidates for the analyst position at some of the top private equity, investment banking, asset management, and consulting firms. After a few years, these candidates head to business schools (if the opportunity cost is worth it) in order to advance in their field, transition to a new field, or enter management roles in other industry.

I attended Hopkins (a powerhouse in medicine not finance), focused on volunteering at hospitals and shadowing medical doctors during my summer months rather than interning at finance firms and I’m currently in a non-finance position looking to transfer into a financial career. Business schools do allot some seats for professionals to transition into a new career, but many of these professionals have spent some years in their initial industry. To top it off, the average age of the schools on my list is twenty-eight (28) and I just turned twenty-three (23) not too long ago. There are a few things in my favor, (1) I’m currently in a job that puts in a position to independently handle vital matters and manage/advise other professionals, (2) I majored in economics during undergrad, (3) my GMAT scores actually places me in the range of all the schools I’m applied to, and (4) business schools have recently underwent a change to accept more younger applicants (such as myself), and (5) I do fall in the range for every school I applied to.

My decision to apply to business school was not an easy one. I’ve since created contingency plans in such a case as one where I do not gain admission to business school. Each day, I analyze this plan and imagine how each event would play out if I am forced to actually carry it out as a contingency plan. I addressed many of the points above (the ones where I depart from a traditional applicant) in the essays that I submitted for each school I applied, and knowing that this information is in those essays (which I’m hoping some admission member is reading at this moment) brings some comfort. In the meanwhile, I’ll keep my Blackberry close by and continue on with the rest of the applications that I saved for the second round.

Why Not ________ School?

When I started having doubts about applying to medical school, I ran through contingency plan detailing what other career options I should instead consider. I wanted to blog about this thought process that led to the decision to work for a few years and later to seek matriculation at business school to advance my career, but now, I’ve lost the motivation to do just that.

Basically, there are other exciting occurrences and ideas that I would rather blog about. I have come to the realization that the reasoning do not matter as much as the ultimate decision. So, with that, I’ll venture to move on and discuss other topics.

I’ve detailed some of the factors I considered pertaining to medical school, and I would rather leave it at that. For those remotely interested in learning more, you are free to e-mail me.

Why Not Medical School? Part 3

Reasons 8 – 10

1. Changes to health care & insurance: For better or for worse, the U.S. health care system, and the insurance industry that oils the cogs that runs it, is about to undergo a radical transformation. No one will disagree that the current system needs modification but with each presidential candidates and many state politicians flaunting their version of the “cure” for the ailment of the current system, it’s hard to predict the future of U.S. health care and the impact it will have on physicians and their profession. This uncertainty throws an unnecessary risk into an occupation that is generally known for its stability and security. Physicians are usually risk-averse (the profession usually calls for it) and such uncertainty should be cause for alarm, albeit a low level one. I would like to believe the free market will deter drastic changes in the physician profession but then again, when was the last time the profession bore any resemblance to the free market. Maybe the system will be improved or maybe politics will pollute the system, whichever case, I’m not as confident that given the current state of the economy, the medical profession might continue to be the safe and secure profession of today.
2. Medical Malpractice & Litigation: I’m no expert here as I’ve not had the experience to carry medical malpractice insurance or be involved in medical malpractice litigation. All my knowledge in this area stem from the news reel and information that I’ve gathered. Nonetheless the medical malpractice litigation system is inefficient, expensive and triggers adverse effects rather than actually improving health care by deterring physicians from disregarding regulation. Medical malpractice litigation cases are on the rise (expensive) and it does not necessarily solve the woes of substandard health care nor does it truly compensate the patient/plaintiff in a case where there is actually a medical error. Approximately 50% of the monetary expenses in a claim went towards administrative expenses and not to the patient/plaintiff (inefficient). While I’m not going to extrapolate about the workings of other’s thought, I can clearly see this opening the litigation system to abuse, wherein bogus claims arise from plaintiffs who hope for a quick, litigation-free yet lucrative resolution and physicians respond by practicing defensive medicine hoping to combat such scenarios (adverse effects). Here’s a blog post a while back from a medical doctor blogger, whom I occasionally frequent, addressing the issue of defensive medicine. Either way you cut it, the advent of medical malpractice litigation is causing a rift in the profession. There are many fixes to the problem being proposed, and I’m glad there is an active community that’s currently speaking out for tort reform in medical malpractice litigation. Even with the improving conditions, this is still a jarring aspect of the profession that I could not ignore.
3. There is something else I want to do: This is important because this is perhaps one of the single unifying advices that I received from numerous physicians, residents and professors whom I spoke with. Most understand the demand of the profession and the high cost of switching out of the profession if I ultimately decide it was not the right path later on down the road. Their words, which I’ll attempt to paraphrase, still echo today. “If there is another career that you might enjoy, do that first, but if you find that nothing else can give you the same satisfaction as medicine, then you belong here”. If that happens later on down the line, so be it. Medicine will always wait.” For now, I think I’ll try that something else.

Why not Medical School? Part 2

Reasons 4 – 7

1. Gunners: While this is more of an opinionated statement, I believe that there exists a higher population of gunners in medical school than any other comparable profession field. There’s just something inherent about medicine that attracts gunners. I personally have a one track mind in that once I set a goal, I pursue it at almost any cost. Yet I’ve never tried to succeed by bringing about someone else’s misfortune like gunners are well known to do in order to rise to the top. While I’m quite determined in my career objectives and will probably step on a few toes trying to accomplish these dreams, I still cannot comprehend the gunner’s mentality to intentionally bring out this misfortune. The farther I can be from gunners, the better.
2. Residency: Why is there a need to abuse, harass, or otherwise tease residents? Why are there malignant residency programs in existence that believe the best avenue for training their freshly minted doctors is through sleep deprivation? These are just a few of the outstanding issues surrounding medical residencies. After four years of medical school, the progression should not be into a system where abuse, underpayment, and lack of sleep are common. I would like to believe (even if I’m a little naïve) that residents are at times called to handle life and death situations, why sleep deprive them or give them reason to gripe during these times? I’ve always wondered why there isn’t a huge outcry about improving the quality of residencies and then I stumbled onto this post on SDN. Pardon me; it has to do a bit with money, but the points in the posts still valid to the discussion. For whatever reason, physicians do not see a need to improve this current situation.
3. Compensation is horrible: I don’t even want to get into a discussion on this topic. People are either in the camp of “Doctors should not worry about how much they make, it’s the patients that matter” or “Doctors makes enough. Doctor’s salaries are about 5X -10X that of the average American” or “The artificial restrictions on the field of medicine constrict the salary of physicians away from the rates that the market will bear.” I subscribe to the last of those theory. You may not. Either way, it’s still a reason I considered.
4. Battle for cases: The practice of medicine is undergoing a change. The different specialties in medicine are becoming a bit homogeneous whereas different specialties are now competing for similar cases. Not only are there battles for cases between varying specialties, but in today’s flat world (Thomas Friedman duly credited) medical cases are now shifted to other health providers who can provide their services at a lower cost than physicians. With the advent of Nurse Practioners, Nurse Anesthetics, Physician Assistant or other primary care health providers (“mid-level providers) performing basic cases and slowly eroding physician’s responsibilities, the battle for cases has intensified. In the beginning, mid-level providers required physicians to be present (or required physician oversight) before performing their duties. Nowadays, mid-level providers are requesting more autonomy in their tasks, as well as attempting to increase their duties and responsibilities by encroaching on duties that historically belonged to physicians. Once again, where is the outcry from physicians groups trying to protect their territory or at least forming a coalition to try to adapt to these economic changes occurring around them. Physicians will have to stand unified one day and attack this problem, but as I can currently see, today is not that day, and tomorrow is not looking any better. Whether these mid-level providers can provide a service that is comparable in quality to a physician is not a debate for me to engage in (after all, I am not well versed), but I still understand the basic laws of economics. With different providers offering similar services, there will be an arduous fight for cases in the future; I only pray that physicians as a whole are ready to protect their profession.

For a change of pace, see this cartoon illustrating the different medical specialties.

- to be continued and concluded with next post

Why not Medical School? Part 1

Below, I’ll try to catalog the underlying reasons that lead to the withdrawal of my application from AMCAS (the centralized medical admission service). I would like to note (or re-note for some of the SDN readers) that this is by no means an attempt on my part to sway young pre-meds minds from thoughts of medical school. The medical profession is an excellent field and I would comfortable recommend the profession but with some reservation. I chose not to apply for matriculation for the reasons detailed below. The choice to apply to medical school should always be considered within a personal context and hence should always remain an individual’s choice based on accurate expectations from the field. All I’ve done is publicly expose my reasons for deciding against applying.The reasons I give below are negative reflections of the medical profession. The downsides are the aspects of the profession that altered my decision and though there are numerous positive aspects to the medical profession that I could have given a soliloquy for days, this is currently not the proper venue (maybe at a later date). Without further delay, here is my Why Not Medical School? Part 1.

1. Rote Memorization: There is something about a teaching style that reinforces rote memorization that aggravates me. This occurs in a system where a student receives tons of information and is later called to process information and regurgitate the information upon beckoning. This system promotes rote memorization where a student isn’t concerned with understanding or analyzing the material but is rather concerned with the ability to reiterate the information found of page 357. Rote memorization is not particularly difficult once you understand the secret to be successful – repetition – but I still cannot help but wonder how inherently inefficient this teaching style is. Medical training for the most part requires a disproportionate amount of rote memorization than most other professional schools (as far as I am aware). The medical curriculum thrives on overloading its students with excessive information and watching those who best regurgitate the material rise among their peers. This curriculum encourages the development of photographic memories rather comprehension of the material. I would prefer to learn through alternate methods and I’m avoiding rote memorization if at all possible.
2. Time vs. Money: At an early age, most of us will have more time than money. At this early stage, we are willing to trade the former for the latter at a discount to whoever is willing to buy our time. We work overtime and dedicate our livelihood to a company if we can expect a reasonable exchange rate for our time. As we age, this time-money dynamic starts to shift as either our time become more precious and/or scarcer, money becomes less valuable to us, or any and all combination of the three. At this point, any incremental allotment of our time towards work must be met by an exponential increase in monetary compensation in a trade. After all, who would not require more of what they value less in a trade for something of greater value. This dynamic is either disregarded by the medical profession or the profession is powerless to adapt. The current structure of medical training requires four years of medical school and another four to seven years of residency training (depending on specialty) before any reasonable compensation can be expected. With this in mind, most in the profession (if they reason as I do) will devote their livelihood to work first to recoup the initial investment for a medical education. As their time-money dynamics shift, they are less willing to exchange time for money and so will only work to a level they feel satisfy their monetary comfort. They will be unwilling to work or sacrifice additional time without an exponential increase in compensation, perhaps beyond what the buyers of their time are willing to pay. In today’s society wherein the cost to finance a medical education is on the rise and the supply of physicians is not meeting demand, the wrong strategy to combat these issues is not a delay in compensation for the physician. By the time a physician finally gets compensated, eleven years of a favorable time-money dynamic that could resolve some of the issues above are lost. The solution might be to begin adequate compensation at an earlier age (whether by reducing training length or modifying residency) and demanding increased hours from these cheap (relatively speaking) labors. I don’t see the profession heading down this route any time soon.
3. Four years of debt: At some point, most of us will be faced with the choice to finance a venture today with a loan on the pretense that it can be repaid with future income. Medical education is no exception. To finance a medical education, most of us will have to take out loans from the federal government or private institutions and be responsible to return the principal and interest to the lender at a later date. The cost of a medical education is on the rise which means a greater principal is required to finance the expenditure, which inherently leads to greater interest charges on the life of the loan. After four years of medical school comes residency training where the average salary, as calculated by AAMC, is $43,226. This amount is hardly enough to cover the basic amenities of life and comfortably repay lenders the minimum on a four year medical loan. The option to defer the loan until residency is complete is possible, but this is a simple fix and not a resolution to the problem. While it is not entirely impossible to start repayment during residency and still live comfortably, it does significantly impair one’s lifestyles for a few years post-medical school. I’m not risk averse to the extent that I actively avoid risks or debt, but the average debt load of medical school is a factor worth consideration before I embark on a medical education. With today’s physician salary, it’s quite possible to pay back a medical school loan with sufficient monetary management but there is still a risk that physician salaries drop from their current levels. I know a medical education is a worthwhile investment, but with an uncertain future facing medical compensation, I believe it’s worth a second look to determine whether the best route to financial independence is to first dig a mammoth hole I need to climb out of. Of all comparable advanced education I considered, medical education had the greatest loan liability.

- to be continued